????白宮宣布，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)將在勞動節(jié)（美國的勞動節(jié)是九月的第一個星期一—譯注）后就就業(yè)問題發(fā)表全國講話。總統(tǒng)先生上哪兒能找到這個問題的部分答案呢？對此，我有個建議：讓美國總計(jì)30兆瓦的太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目末期工程放手開工。這個建議最大的好處在于：總統(tǒng)閣下無須多花一美元聯(lián)邦預(yù)算就能辦到，同時，通過創(chuàng)造大量就業(yè)崗位和推動對美國基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施又一輪私人投資，政府將省下一筆開支。

????首先讓我從頭描述一下背景情況。過去幾年中，太陽能發(fā)電成本快速降低，美國出臺了“可再生能源組合標(biāo)準(zhǔn)”【Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)】項(xiàng)目，該項(xiàng)目要求發(fā)電廠利用可再生能源生產(chǎn)一部分電能。這兩個因素共同催生了30兆瓦太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目，目前它們已經(jīng)處于工程末期。這一規(guī)模的電能足以供600萬戶美國家庭使用。據(jù)美國公共電力協(xié)會（American Public Power Association）分析，相比其他電能的來源，太陽能的待裝機(jī)兆瓦數(shù)超過了風(fēng)能、煤炭、天然氣和核能。

????為數(shù)眾多的太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目意味著成千上萬個建筑行業(yè)的新崗位，以及大量工程、金融和服務(wù)業(yè)領(lǐng)域的工作機(jī)會。這些項(xiàng)目和工作之所以現(xiàn)在還無從談起，是因?yàn)樗鼈冋ㄔ趯徟?、并網(wǎng)和融資的重重挑戰(zhàn)中無法動彈。要讓這些崗位擺脫禁錮，只需要做到以下三件事：

1.簡化環(huán)保審批程序。

2.協(xié)調(diào)并網(wǎng)政策和設(shè)備采購計(jì)劃。

3.并且擴(kuò)大太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目投資者的許可范圍。

????環(huán)保審批程序效率低下，人浮于事、機(jī)構(gòu)重疊和管轄權(quán)混亂等問題嚴(yán)重。請別誤會我。我們絕對需要強(qiáng)有力的條例來保護(hù)環(huán)境和瀕危物種。但是，簡化條例和規(guī)則使審批更有效率與加強(qiáng)環(huán)境保護(hù)并不矛盾。減少管制的凈效益就是：政府部門浪費(fèi)更少，工業(yè)浪費(fèi)更少，工作崗位更多。

????并網(wǎng)是個非常技術(shù)化的問題，但我們需要簡單了解這個概念。所謂并網(wǎng)就是將發(fā)電機(jī)組連接到電網(wǎng)的過程。在現(xiàn)行體系中，是由“獨(dú)立系統(tǒng)運(yùn)營商”來監(jiān)控并網(wǎng)的。它負(fù)責(zé)協(xié)調(diào)電網(wǎng)規(guī)劃，并決定誰及何時能獲得并網(wǎng)。而電力采購——即公用設(shè)施購買電力——是由公用設(shè)施委員會監(jiān)管的，它會判定采購是否符合管理要求。我們需要政治領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人明確，并網(wǎng)應(yīng)“緊跟”公用設(shè)施電力采購。而現(xiàn)在這兩者是被作為兩個獨(dú)立流程對待的，這一點(diǎn)想想都會覺得有點(diǎn)愚不可及。這種做法導(dǎo)致了頗為荒唐的現(xiàn)狀：并網(wǎng)權(quán)要么被批給了公共設(shè)施不滿意的發(fā)電廠，要么市場認(rèn)為重要的發(fā)電廠卻無法獲得并網(wǎng)批準(zhǔn)。改善并網(wǎng)的凈效果就是：政府部門浪費(fèi)更少，工業(yè)浪費(fèi)更少，工作崗位更多。

????奧巴馬總統(tǒng)所能做的最簡單的事就是擴(kuò)大太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目的投資人許可范圍。如果不允許投資資本進(jìn)入該項(xiàng)目，30兆瓦太陽能發(fā)電項(xiàng)目的輸電線就根本無從建起。得說明的是，我所談的是上好的項(xiàng)目，它技術(shù)可靠、信譽(yù)極好，還有可觀的回報(bào)。這類項(xiàng)目融資理應(yīng)很容易，但實(shí)際上卻并非如此。

????The White House announced that President Obama will address the nation on jobs after Labor Day. I have a suggestion for where the President could find part of the answer: by setting loose the 30-gigawatt (GW) buildup of U.S. solar projects bogged down in late stage development. Here's the amazing part: he could do it without committing to spend a single additional federal dollar and the result would be net savings to the government through massive job creation and a wave of private investment in our nation's infrastructure.

????Let me first describe the situation on the ground. Over the past few years, rapidly declining solar costs and state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) programs, which require utilities to generate a percentage of power from renewable energy sources, have combined to create 30GW of solar projects in the later stages of development. That's enough solar to power about 6 million homes. To put that in perspective relative to other sources of electricity, solar has more megawatts in development than wind, coal, gas, or nuclear according to analysis by the American Public Power Association.

????All those solar projects represent many tens of thousands of new construction jobs, plus a whole lot of engineering, finance, and service jobs as well. The only reason those projects and jobs aren't happening now is because they're held up by a gauntlet of permitting, interconnection and financing challenges. To set those jobs free, we need to do just three things:

1. Streamline environmental permitting.

2. Align interconnection policies with utility procurement plans.

3. And expand the pool of eligible investors in solar projects.

?? Environmental permitting is inefficient, rife with redundancy, agency overlap, and jurisdictional issues. Don't get me wrong. We absolutely need strong rules to protect our environment and critical species. However, we can still have strong protection for our environment while streamlining rules and guidelines to make permitting more efficient. Net impact of reducing regulation: less government waste, less industry waste, more jobs.

????Interconnection is a pretty technical issue but what's needed is straightforward to understand. Interconnection refers to the process of connecting a generator to the electrical grid. Under the current system, interconnection is overseen by "independent system operators" who coordinate grid planning and decide who gets connected and when. Procurement – how utilities buy power – is overseen by utility commissions who determine whether the purchase complies with regulatory requirements. We need our political leaders to make it clear that interconnection should 'follow' utility procurement. Right now they're treated as two separate processes, which is kind of silly when you think about it. This results in ridiculous situations where interconnection is granted to a generating resource utilities don't want or interconnection is denied to a resource that the market deems important. Net impact of fixing interconnection: less government waste, less industry waste, more jobs.

????The easiest thing President Obama can do is expand the pool of eligible investors in solar projects. None of the 30GW solar pipeline will be built if investment capital isn't allowed to flow into projects. To be clear, I'm talking about good projects with proven technology, strong credit, and attractive returns. These kinds of projects should be easy to finance, but they're not.